A Whale Biologist at Work

Children's Literature

The blue whale is the world's largest animal. Each whale may grow to more than 80 feet long, five times longer than the boat used by the biologist who is studying and photographing whales in this story. Although the book includes too much detail about the grants needed to pursue such studies, it is a unique and valuable approach for young people to see how one can fashion a career around a love of whale watching. In this case, biologist John Calambokidis has been an animal-lover since childhood. After college, he and several other scientists started an organization to learn more about how to protect marine mammals. Today, he photographs whales off the coast of California, using identifying marks to record how often he sees the same whales. Calambokidis has determined that 2000 of the world's 5,000 blue whales swim off the coast of California. The photographs are stunning, and also give readers a chance to test their newly learned whale identification skills by comparing photos of several whale flukes. The book is excellent for career or animal studies and includes a short glossary, bibliography and appropriate websites. 2000, Franklin Watts,

School Library Journal

Gr 4-5-Collard describes the work of marine biologist John Calambokidis, who began studying humpback whales off the California coast but expanded his investigations to include blue whales as he discovered their presence among the humpbacks. Although the focus is on the nature of the scientist's work, basic information about these creatures is also included. The different techniques of identifying individual whales are described and illustrated, and readers are given a chance to test their own powers of observation. Scientific descriptions are punctuated by memorable phrases such as whale breaths sounding like "heaving gasps of a steam locomotive." The full-color photos include exhilarating looks at breaching and other shots of humpbacks and blues. This clearly written title will be of interest to animal lovers, environmentalists, and children considering career choices.-Frances E. Millhouser, Chantilly Regional Library, VA Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.